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Come back and talk to us about ending the New Economic Policy and those other things that you are so unhappy with after the parties that represent you either join us in fighting for change or get wiped off the face of this earth and are sent to their graves if they resist change.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The Chinese and Indians are not happy. They have not been happy since Merdeka in 1957. They were also not happy in 1969. The Chinese and Indians would like to see a level playing field. They want the special rights/privileges of the Malays abolished. They resent being called Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indians. They want to be just called Malaysians, period. Ketuanan Melayu and the New Economic Policy tantamount to Apartheid, argue the Chinese and Indians. They want all this racial discrimination to end.
The Malays have a counter-argument to this. This was what was agreed upon, say the Malays. Before Merdeka, all the races agreed to enter into a ‘Social Contract’. The ‘immigrants’ would be granted citizenship and the original ‘sons of the soil’ would be granted special rights/privileges. To ‘cement’ this ‘Social Contract’, this was stipulated in the Federal Constitution of Malaya.
The ‘Social Contract’ is ‘carved in stone’. Even more than two-thirds of Parliament can’t amend it or remove it from the Federal Constitution. Only the unanimous agreement of the Rulers can do this. Not even a simple majority vote of the Rulers can touch these ‘special provisions’. It must be unanimous. Therefore, to remove it, you must first abolish the Monarchy and turn Malaysia into a Republic. But to suggest that the Monarchy be abolished and Malaysia be turned into a Republic is a crime under the Sedition Act and you will be sent to jail if you do. So, by law, you are not allowed to suggest such a thing.
Prior to Merdeka and the ‘Social Contract’ being agreed upon, the Malays were represented by Umno, the Chinese by MCA and the Indians by MIC. And, as ‘proof’ that all Malayans accepted this ‘Agreement’, Umno, MCA and MIC merged under the banner of the Alliance Party and, together, claimed Merdeka for Malaya.
But did the Malays, Chinese and Indians really agree to this pre-Merdeka ‘Social Contract’? The 1955 Municipal Elections proved they did. In that first election two years before Merdeka, the Alliance Party won 51 of the 52 seats it contested. The opposition won only one seat. So it appears like they did agree and supported the ‘terms of Merdeka’ wholeheartedly.
In the First General Election in 1959, two years after Merdeka, the Alliance Party won 74 of the 104 Parliament seats. The opposition won only 30 seats. Nevertheless, while the Alliance Party won 71.15% of the seats, it garnered only 51.7% of the popular votes. The opposition, which won 28.85% of the seats, garnered 48.3% of the popular votes.
Five years later, in the Second General Election in 1964, the Alliance Party won 89 of the 104 seats while the opposition won only 15 seats. The Alliance Party’s share of the popular votes increased to 58.5% against this 85.58% seat improvement as opposed to the opposition’s 41.5% votes and 14.42% of the seats.
Yes, more than a decade after the ‘Social Contract’ was agreed upon, the many races appeared to be quite happy with the ‘Agreement’ and they continued giving the ruling party a resounding and impressive win. However, in the Third General Election in 1969, this was interrupted.
By 1969, the number of Parliament seats had increased to 144. In this general election, the Alliance Party won only 95 seats, which gave it only 65.97% of the seats in Parliament, slightly short of the psychological 66.67% it needs to control two-thirds of Parliament. The Alliance Party’s share of the popular votes dropped to a miserable 49.3%, the worse it had even done.
Was this a sign that Malaysians had now rejected the so-called ‘Social Contract’ and were no longer prepared to honour the ‘Agreement’? Maybe, or maybe not, because soon after that a new coalition called Barisan Nasional was formed and all the opposition parties, save DAP, joined it to give back the ruling coalition its two-thirds majority in Parliament plus control of all the states that had fallen to the opposition.
Of course, PAS left Barisan Nasional soon after that, but the damage had been done. In the Fourth General Election in 1974, Barisan Nasional won 87.66% of the seats -- and 84.42% in 1978, 85.71% in 1982, 83.62% in 1986 and 70.55% in 1990 (a slight drop because of Semangat 46).
In the 1995 general election, Barisan Nasional’s share of Parliament seats went back up to 84.38%. It dropped to 76.68% in 1999 (because of the birth of the Reformasi Movement) and in 2004 it touched an all-time high of 90.41% (because of the exit of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the ‘honeymoon’ period for Abdullah Ahmad Badawi).
From 1955 to 2004, except for a short period in 1969, Malaysians did not give one hint that they are not happy with the ‘arrangement’. They gave the ruling party overwhelming support and justified it with the excuse that no one else is capable of running this country other than the ruling party, they have no confidence in the opposition which has not been tested, and so on and so forth. They explained, in all sorts of ways, why they can’t vote for the opposition and must vote for the ruling party (fear of the ‘Taliban’, cutting off hands and legs, etc., included). In short, they gave the ruling party a clear mandate, a resounding vote of confidence, and a ‘without doubt’ indication that they agree with the policies of the government of the day.
Okay, in 1969, the Alliance Party was given a vote of no confidence. However, as soon as Barisan Nasional was formed, all the opposition parties (except DAP) rushed to join the new coalition and all (except for PAS) have remained in the ruling coalition ever since. And they all joined Barisan Nasional AFTER the New Economic Policy was launched -- which means they joined the ruling coalition in full support of the policy.
What is the message here? Simple. The majority of Malays, Indians and Chinese support the ruling coalition. Therefore, they also support the policies of the coalition. The special rights/privileges of the Malays was written into the Constitution BEFORE Merdeka. And in the 1955 and 1959 elections, two years before and two years after Merdeka respectively, Malayans of all races gave the Alliance Party an impressive victory as a mark of this support and confidence.
Even after the May 1969 tragedy, which saw the birth of the New Economic Policy, Malaysians still gave the ruling coalition their support and a vote of confidence. Soon after that, the opposition parties joined the new ruling coalition called Barisan Nasional (which means they support the New Economic Policy) and the people who voted for them did not protest. The voters did not express their displeasure at being ‘betrayed’ by abandoning the parties they supported in 1969. In fact, the opposite was what actually happened.
In the FOUR general elections following the May 13 episode and AFTER Barisan Nasional was formed and AFTER the New Economic Policy was launched, Malaysians gave the ruling coalition 87.66% (1974), 84.42% (1978), 85.71% (1982) and 83.62% (1986) of the seats in Parliament -- until Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and his Semangat 46 reduced that to 70.55% in 1990. But even then it was still more than two-thirds because, while the ‘Malay heartland’ fell to Pas-Semangat 46, the Chinese seats still remained with Barisan Nasional. The swing was only the Malay voters, not the non-Malay voters who remained loyal to the government.
The Chinese and Indians are not happy. They have not been happy since Merdeka in 1957. They were also not happy in 1969. The Chinese and Indians would like to see a level playing field. They want the special rights/privileges of the Malays abolished. They resent being called Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indians. They want to be just called Malaysians, period. Ketuanan Melayu and the New Economic Policy tantamount to Apartheid, argue the Chinese and Indians. They want all this racial discrimination to end.
Malays find this very hard to believe. The actions of the Chinese and Indians over the last 53 years since 1955 do not seem to reflect this unhappiness. In fact, it is the Malays who are not happy with the Chinese and Indians. The Malays feel that the Chinese and Indians are very stupid for supporting the government, when the Malays want them to support the opposition, and then, after supporting the government, the Chinese and Indians blame the Malays for the problems they face.
Anyway, that is all now water under the bridge. 2008 changed all that. After 53 years, the Chinese and Indians finally joined the Malays in the opposition. A bit late, I would say. Nevertheless, better late than never. After 53 years of swallowing the shit they were dished out, the Chinese and Indians finally said ‘enough is enough’.
But that is still not good enough. MCA and MIC, and all those 1969 opposition parties like Gerakan and PPP, are still in Barisan Nasional. That makes the Malays very suspicious. Maybe some Chinese and Indians did swing to the opposition. But the main parties ‘representing Chinese and Indian interests’ are still sitting comfortably in Barisan Nasional. This does not give the impression that they want change. This just gives the impression they are hedging. The day these parties join Pakatan Rakyat and work with Pakatan Rakyat in bringing about change would be the day the Malays become convinced that the Chinese and Indians really want change and are working towards seeing this change.
No, don’t blame the Malays for your problems. Don’t even blame Umno. Umno would have been nothing then and will be nothing today without MCA and MIC and without those other opposition parties like Gerakan and PPP joining Barisan Nasional soon after 1969. And today, half of you join the opposition while you very cleverly leave your parties in Barisan Nasional so that you can hedge. Smart but not smart enough. Come back and talk to us about ending the New Economic Policy and those other things that you are so unhappy with after the parties that represent you either join us in fighting for change or get wiped off the face of this earth and are sent to their graves if they resist change.
Footnote:
I am extending an open invitation to MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, etc., members to meet Malaysia Today’s readers/members for a brain-storming or roundtable (or anything you want to call it) discussion to explore how to bridge the racial and religious divide and how to bring Malaysians closer to the one-race concept. Time, date and place at your convenience, but let this be a no holds barred, heart-to-heart, sincere ‘rakyat’s summit’ with absolutely no party agenda. We will leave the various parties outside the hall and, inside the hall, wear the common hat of Rakyat Malaysia.
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@ cruz
Very good suggesstion.
Lets hope they come.
And join PR as well.